Camp Chef markets the Apex as one grill that replaces two — a wood-pellet smoker and a propane grill, switched with a knob. That’s a real and useful idea. What a lot of searches for “Camp Chef Apex” miss is that the part making it dual-fuel isn’t included in the base price.
Quick Answer
The Camp Chef Apex is a hybrid pellet-and-propane grill sold in two sizes — the Apex 24 ($1,699.99 list, 811 sq in, 30 lb hopper) and the larger Apex 36 ($1,899.99 list) — but the propane gas kit and Sidekick sear burner that make it a true dual-fuel grill are sold separately, pushing the bundled price to roughly $2,199.99-$2,449.99 depending on size, per current retailer listings. Without that add-on, you own a pellet-only smoker at a pellet-only-smoker price point well above comparable competitors. SmokedBBQSource’s own hands-on reviewer did the math and concluded that if you don’t need the gas side, “you’d be better off buying a Woodwind Pro and saving $600” — a cheaper Camp Chef model this site already reviews in full.
Camp Chef Apex at a glance
| Spec | Apex 24 | Apex 36 |
|---|---|---|
| Cook space | 811 sq in | ~1,236 sq in (sources disagree on this figure) |
| Hopper | 30 lb, with pellet sensor | Listed as 22 lb by one hands-on review, 30 lb by another source — unresolved |
| Pellet-mode temp range | 160°F-400°F | 160°F-400°F |
| Gas burners (with gas kit) | 4 | 6 |
| Base price (pellet only) | $1,699.99 | $1,899.99 (down from $1,999.99) |
| With gas kit + Sidekick | ~$2,199.99 | ~$2,449.99 |
| Warranty | 3 years, per BBQGuys — matches the Woodwind Pro's term | |
The honesty-hook most listings skip: the “dual-fuel” part costs extra
This is the detail that matters most before you buy. The Apex’s entire pitch is that it’s one grill, two fuel sources, switched with a knob in the same chamber. But the propane side — the gas kit plus the Sidekick attachment that gives it a dedicated sear burner — isn’t bundled into the base Apex price. Buy the grill alone and you’re buying a pellet-only smoker, and at $1,699.99-$1,899.99, that’s a steep price for a feature set you can match elsewhere for less.
SmokedBBQSource’s hands-on reviewer said it plainly: without the gas kit, the Apex is “just a seriously expensive pellet grill.” Their own cost-benefit math landed on a specific, quantified recommendation — if you’re not going to actually cook on propane, “you’d be better off buying a Woodwind Pro and saving $600.” That’s a real number from a reviewer who tested the unit directly, not a hypothetical.
The Sidekick itself adds a second wrinkle: sources disagree on its burner output (24,000 BTU per one listing, 28,000 BTU per another), its propane tank is sold separately from the Sidekick itself, and Camp Chef covers it under its own 1-year warranty — separate from the grill’s 3-year term, the same split this site’s Woodwind Pro review already flagged for the same accessory.
Camp Chef Apex 24
- Pellet side runs a real WiFi-controlled smoke, with four meat probes included per Camp Chef's listing.
- Adding the gas kit and Sidekick brings the bundled price to roughly $2,199.99 — confirm whether a listing includes it before comparing prices across retailers.
- Stock has been intermittent at Camp Chef's own site and most major retailers as of this writing.
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Apex vs. Woodwind Pro: the real comparison
| Apex 24 (pellet only) | Apex 24 + gas kit/Sidekick | Woodwind Pro 24 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,699.99 | ~$2,199.99 | $999.99 (often ~$799.99 at retail) |
| Cook space | 811 sq in | 811 sq in | 811 sq in |
| High-heat searing | No (pellet mode tops out 400°F) | Yes, via propane burners | Yes, via Slide and Grill lever to 650°F |
| Warranty | 3 years | 3 years | |
Both grills land at the same 811 sq in on the 24-inch size. The Woodwind Pro gets you real direct-flame searing up to 650°F — covered in full in our Camp Chef Woodwind Pro 24 review — through its built-in Slide and Grill lever, for roughly $700-$900 less than the gas-equipped Apex 24. The Apex still wins if you specifically want a true propane burner (for griddling, or running gas and pellet simultaneously rather than switching between them) rather than a searing lever on the same fire pot. For most backyard cooks who just want to smoke low-and-slow and sear steaks on the same grill, that’s a narrower use case than the price gap suggests.
Who should actually buy the Apex
- Buy the Apex with the gas kit if: you specifically want a standalone propane burner you can run independently of (or alongside) the pellet side — not just a searing feature.
- Skip the gas kit and buy the Woodwind Pro instead if: searing is the only reason you’re considering the Apex — the Slide and Grill lever gets you there for hundreds less.
- Confirm the listing includes the gas kit before comparing prices — a $1,699.99 “Apex” and a $2,199.99 “Apex with gas kit and Sidekick” are frequently shown side by side across retailers and are easy to mix up at a glance.
- Double-check Apex 36 specs directly with the retailer before buying — this review found genuine disagreement across sources on its exact cook space and hopper size.
The verdict
The Camp Chef Apex is a legitimately clever idea — one chamber, two fuel sources — but the base grill you’d buy at the advertised $1,699.99-$1,899.99 price is pellet-only, and the dual-fuel feature the name promises is a separate purchase that pushes the real price past $2,000 for the 24-inch size. If searing is your main reason for looking at the Apex, Camp Chef’s own cheaper Woodwind Pro gets you there for less. The Apex earns its premium only if you specifically want a true propane grill built into the same unit, not just a way to sear.